Only Me
by Saxaphonebaby
Summary: Freddy's been acting strangely for ages - so what happens when Summer finds out his secret? Chapter three up!
1. Chapter 1

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A/N: I honestly do not know where the idea for this fic came from. I really don't. But I was watching Nirvana Unplugged last night, when this suddenly came into my head. So. . .here it is. 

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Please note: This story contains self-harm. 

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Disclaimer: I own nothing but the idea for this fic, okay? So I would very, very grateful if you did not sue me. Thanks!

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Only Me

Summer fumbled with her keys. "Damn it, why can I never find the front door key when it's raining?" She muttered angrily to herself. They slipped out of her grasp and fell to the floor with a thud. "Damn!" She went to pick them up, when there was a loud rattling behind her. She turned to see Freddy on his skateboard, zooming past her house. "Hey, Freddy!" She yelled. But to her surprise, he ignored her, jumped off his skateboard and ran into his house, slamming the door shut behind him with an almighty _bang!_ Summer winced. "I should be used to that - that's what you get when you live next door to him half your life," she mumbled, finally managing to open the front door.

As soon as she stepped inside, the first thing she noticed was the phone ringing. Dropping her bag and keys on the floor, she raced into the kitchen, dived for the phone and picked it up just the answering machine came on.

"Hello?" She asked, out of breath.

"Hey. Is Summer there?"

"This _is_ Summer. Hi Dewey."

"Oh, sorry. You sound a lot like your mom when your on the phone."

"You've said that before," Summer replied dryly.

"I have?"

"Yeah."

"Oh. Sorry."

"That's okay. Why are you calling?"

"I thought that was obvious! Why aren't you here at band practise?"

"Oh, I won't be able to make it today. My mom and dad are out, so they can't take me."

"Bummer. Freddy isn't here either."

"I know, I just saw him run into his house at about one hundred miles an hour."

"Huh?" Summer had to laugh at how confused Dewey sounded. 

"He lives next door to me."

"Oh good, you can go round there and tell him to get his ass down to practise!" 

"I can?"

"Thanks Summer!" Dewey hung up, leaving Summer staring open-mouthed at the mouthpiece. Feeling slightly annoyed, she put the phone down, and stomped back out into the hall. _Freddy Jones, I am going to kick your ass!_ she thought angrily, picking up her keys. With slightly more force than was necessary, she pulled the door open, stepped outside, and slammed the door shut again. Stuffing her keys in her pocket, she jumped over the hedge that separated hers and Freddy's driveways and walked up to the front door. 

As she reached out to ring the bell, she suddenly noticed - the front door was open. _That's weird. . ._she thought. _Should I go in? Oh. . .might as well._ She stepped forward, and pushed the door open a little further. "Hello?" She called. "Freddy, you here?" There was no answer. _But I saw him come in only five minutes ago! Where is he?_ Summer sighed heavily, pushed the door wide open, and stepped inside.

The first thing she noticed was how quiet it was. Feeling a slight sense of foreboding, she closed the door behind her, and then stood still, wondering where Freddy could be. _Might as well do the logical thing, and LOOK._ "Shut up brain," she hissed, making her way to what she remembered was the living room door. That too was open. But it was so dark inside that she couldn't actually see anything. The curtains were drawn, and the lights were off. Summer fumbled for the light switch and, upon finding it, flipped it on. 

And gasped at the sight in front of her. 

__

"Freddy!"

*~*~*~*~*

He jumped a mile at the sound of her voice. The scissors slipped, scouring deeper into his flesh. He jumped to his feet, the scissors falling to the floor, still stained with his blood. He urgently kicked them away, under the sofa, and then moved away from Summer, tugging his sleeve down. 

"Freddy. . ." Summer gasped, her eyes wide with shock. "What. . .what the hell. . .what are you DOING?" She shrieked, unconsciously moving towards him. He backed off, nearly falling over the coffee table in his attempt to get away from Summer. "Woah. It's only me." Freddy did not reply. He kept moving away, fell into the armchair. "Freddy. . .why were you. . .why. . .I mean. . ." 

Her immediate shock started ebbing away, and irritation began creeping up on her when Freddy still didn't say anything. His eyes were firmly locked on the carpet underneath his feet. "Freddy!" She snapped. "Talk to me, please!" Still, he made no movement. "Freddy, for God's sake! You're beginning to annoy me - Freddy?" She cut off mid-sentence when Freddy looked up at her. His face was blank. Expressionless. But that was not what shocked Summer the most. 

Freddy's dark brown eyes were full of tears.

"Freddy?" She said, much more gently. He looked away sharply as the tears started falling, and he started furiously scrubbing at his face with his sleeve. "Hey, hey, hey. What's wrong?" She asked, making her way over, and sitting on the arm of the chair. He didn't reply, but only started crying harder, his shoulders shaking. "Oh Freddy. Come here." She put her arm round him. To her complete surprise, he responded, and rested his head on her shoulder. "It's okay. It's only me," she said soothingly as she stroked his spiky blond hair.

"I can't cope anymore," he sobbed into her shoulder. "I can't cope." Summer felt a pang in her heart as Freddy cried. _It's okay Freddy. . .I'm here._

*~*~*~*~*

"Here. Drink," Summer instructed firmly, kneeling down and placing a mug into Freddy's hands. He eyed it suspiciously, then gave Summer a look. "What? You've never had tea before?" He smiled weakly at her, and lifted the mug. "Careful. It's hot." He took a sip. "Better?" He nodded. "Okay. You ready to talk yet?" He looked up her, fear suddenly showing in his eyes. "Freddy, come on. You're gonna have to talk at some point." He mumbled something she couldn't hear. "What?" 

"Maybe I don't want to talk," he said in a near-whisper. Summer looked concerned. 

"Why not?" 

"Because. . .it's not that easy."

"I know that, but -"

"No, you DON'T know!" He yelled suddenly, making Summer jump about a foot in the air. "I'm SICK of people thinking they know, _when they don't!_ Why can't you all just leave it?!?" Summer stared at Freddy, before collecting her thoughts. 

"Okay, I don't know then," she replied, a lot more calmly than she really felt. "So will you tell me? Come on Freddy," she said as he sighed heavily. "It's only me." Freddy tilted his head to one side, and gave Summer the strangest look. She looked right back at him. This continued for a few minutes, until Freddy gave up and finally spoke.

"It makes me feel better."

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"What?"

"It doesn't matter how bad I've been feeling - how _numb_ I've been feeling. As soon as I see the blood - it's. . .oh, I don't know. . .it's like all my problems are being washed away. I stop feeling numb. I feel _alive_. Seeing my blood - it makes me feel alive," he finished. Summer was slightly scared at just how calm he sounded. 

"That's why you do it? _That's_ why you cut yourself? It makes you feel better? I don't understand."

"No one does." Summer opened her mouth to say something, then changed her mind. She decided to change tactics.

"So. . .you've done it before then?" She asked gently, an idea forming in her head. Freddy paused for a second, then put down his mug of now cold tea. He sat straight, pushed his right sleeve up and then pushed his left sleeve up. Summer instinctively took his hands and turned them over so that she could see his arms. She gasped.

Hundreds of scars littered both his arms. Some were small, others she could tell had been deep - very deep. There was even a deep, silvery scar across his left wrist that made Summer feel slightly sick to look at. There were coloured lines everywhere - faint silvery trails where the skin had knit itself better and what were obviously more recent wounds - dull purple stripes. And fresh cuts. Angry, red, vicious cuts. And then. . .

"It looks like you'll need stitches," Summer said softly, gently touching the cuts Freddy had been making when she had interrupted him. There were several - all of them looked deep. All of them were bleeding, small scarlet rivers travelling down his arm, staining his jumper. 

"It'll be alright," Freddy replied, wriggling out of Summer's grasp and rolling his sleeves back down. Summer took Freddy's head in her hands so that he couldn't look away. 

"Okay," she said, gently but firmly. "Talk." 

A/N: I hope you liked that. But if you have a problem with it, don't bother telling me okay? Because while a lot of this is made up - hence the name fanfiction - some of it is my own story. I used to do what Freddy does (well, what he does in this story) so if you have a problem - don't bother flaming me, alright? 

Don't worry, I am going to continue with my other School of Rock story, but I wanted to get this down. So until next time. Please read and review.


	2. Chapter 2

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A/N: Wow, thanks for the great reviews! You guys are seriously the best! Hugs and cookies for everyone! (only one cookie each though - I'm kinda running out of them!) Erm - I'll shut up now - please read and review!

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Please note: This chapter contains self-harm _and_ some pretty bad language, hence the rating. Oh, and a special note to **Miraged** - your review was amazing. It really brightened up my day. Thank you so much! And **audi katia** - your reviews always cheer me up. Thank you SO MUCH for putting me on your favourite authors list. I'm honoured!

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Disclaimer: They're not mine yet. But one day, one day they **will** be mine. Oh yes, they will. . .well, Freddy will at least. . .hehehe. . . 

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TO UNDERSTAND THIS CHAPTER FULLY, YOU REALLY WILL HAVE TO READ CHAPTER THREE OF _YOU'D BETTER GET ME TO SCHOOL ON TIME._ Or you could just read the whole thing. Hint, hint. 

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Only Me: chapter two

* * Previously * *

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"It looks like you'll need stitches," Summer said softly, gently touching the cuts Freddy had been making when she had interrupted him.

_"It'll be alright," Freddy replied. Summer took his head in her hands so that he couldn't look away._

_"Okay," she said, gently but firmly. "Talk."_

* * * * 

"What do you want me to say?" Freddy asked. 

"I just want you to _talk_ to me." Summer let go of his head and sat cross-legged on the carpet. Freddy gave her a look. 

"What the hell are you doing?"

"I'm going to wait all night if I have to," Summer informed him. "But one way or another, you are _going_ to talk to me."

"But I don't know what to say," he confessed, staring at the floor. 

"Why don't you start from the beginning? Why did you start in the first place?" Freddy didn't reply. "No? You're not saying anything? Okay - how long have you been doing this -"

"Lisa," he blurted out suddenly, looking up from the carpet. Summer fell silent, waiting for him to elaborate. "I started when she. . .she. . .because. . ."

"But - that was over three years ago," Summer said, sounding confused. Freddy nodded, and Summer's eyes widened. "No. . .you haven't. . ."

"I have."

"You've been doing this to yourself for over three years? Ever since Lisa died?" Freddy winced. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have said that so bluntly."

"No, it's okay. Saying it won't change what happened. Doesn't bring her back, does it?"

"No," Summer replied sadly, shaking her head. "I guess it doesn't." 

"I loved her so much, you know," he said, his dark eyes beginning to shine with tears again. "I still do. I _miss_ her so much. Damn it!" He snapped, as the tears began to fall. He scrubbed at his face with his sleeve again. 

"You keep doing that, you won't have _any_ sleeve left," Summer quipped. Freddy actually laughed a little. "Freddy, you didn't have to keep this to yourself. You should have talked to us. We would have understood."

"No, you wouldn't have," he replied flatly. "No one would. Who else would deliberately cut themselves? I know I'm a freak."

"No you're not!" Summer protested loudly, making Freddy jump and stare at her. He still had tear tracks on his face. She took his hand. "Freddy. You're _not._ Never have been, never will be."

"But -"

"But nothing." Freddy allowed the tiniest of smiles to creep onto his face. 

"Sorry," he apologized. Summer smiled back at him.

"You haven't got anything to be sorry for, you know," she said. "All you've done is find a way to cope with feelings you find a lot to bear. It might not be the best way, but hey, you _are_ talking about, aren't you? And that's something." Freddy eyed her suspiciously.

"Since when did you turn into a psychiatrist?" He asked. Summer laughed, and flipped her hair over her shoulder.

"Oh, didn't you know?" She said in a posh accent. "I've been a psychiatrist ever since we were six and you threw water bombs at me through my living room window. It's helped me get over the trauma, you see."

"I did that? I don't remember doing that!" Freddy said, looking incredibly confused. Summer laughed again. 

"You did. Believe me, you did!" Freddy grinned, properly this time. "Good to see you smile."

"Thanks," he said. His eyes flickered automatically up to the clock. He did a double-take. _"Shit!"_ He swore suddenly. 

"What is it?" Summer asked, her eyes wide. Despite Freddy's 'bad-boy' image, he actually didn't swear that often. 

"It's nearly five! I'm late for band practice!"

"Woah, calm down. It's not that big a deal."

"Summer, do you remember what Dewey said to me last week when I was late?"

* * * * *

__

"Seriously, I don't know where he is!" Zack protested. Dewey glared at him, before turning to the rest of the band.

"Okay, do any of you know where our errant drummer is?" 

"No."

"No, sorry."

"Nope."

"Don't know where he is."

"Was he in school today -" Dewey was interrupted by a loud CRASH! as the door was flung wide open. Freddy stood in the doorway, looking unusually meek.

"Sorry!" He said before Dewey could start yelling at him.

"You got a reason for being late?"

"Um. . .no." Dewey rolled his eyes.

"Fine, okay, I'll let you off this time, but if it happens again, then I may just have to put Band Suspension into practice." Band Suspension was something he had made up the week before, much to the horror of the rest of the band. If someone was late too many times in a row, they'd be given the boot - only for a week or so. 

"If you suspend me, then never mind me being late, you won't have a drummer at all for a week," Freddy pointed out. Dewey scowled at him. 

"Don't push your luck!" Freddy rolled his eyes but decided to drop the subject. Dewey turned back to the others. "Okay, so. . ."

* * * * * 

"Come on Freddy, I'm sure he'll understand," Summer said as Freddy reached for his drumsticks where they'd been discarded on the floor underneath the coffee table. "I mean, once you tell him why -" Freddy's head shot up and met the top of the coffee table with a loud _whack!_ Muttering a string of colourful curses, he stood straight.

"What do you mean, 'tell him'? Tell him what?"

"Well - you know. . ." Summer's eyes flickered towards Freddy's arm. The sleeve of his jumper was stained with blood. 

"Oh - oh, no _way_. No way! No, I am NOT telling them!"

"Why not?" She asked. "You told me."

"No, correction," Freddy snapped. "You walked in on me!"

"But you didn't _have_ to talk to me afterwards," Summer cleverly pointed out. "You could have just thrown me out, but you didn't."

"You didn't give me a choice," Freddy hissed at her. 

"Freddy, that is not fair, and you bloody well know it!" Freddy looked slightly shocked at Summer's choice of words - well, it was colourful language for her. 

"Look, thanks a lot for your concern, but I have to get to practice," he snapped eventually, pushing past her to walk out of the living room.

"Freddy?" She called in an annoying sing-song tone. "How are you going to get to practice if your parents aren't here to drive you?" He stopped in the doorway. 

"Okay," he admitted. "Okay, I didn't think that far ahead." He turned back, and walked back into the living room. 

"Obviously," Summer said dryly. Freddy went to push her slightly, but as he reached out, his jumper snagged against the cuts on his arm. He hissed in pain, and drew his arm back, cradling it. "Are you okay?" She asked. He looked up to meet her gaze. "I guess not then. Come on," she said, taking Freddy by his elbow. 

"What? Where are we going?" He asked, as Summer led him out of the house. 

"My place," she told him. "Try and do something about those cuts."

"Summer," he protested, as she half _dragged_ him over to her front porch. "Summer, come on, you don't have to do this." Summer stopped.

"I know," she said softly, turning to face him. "I want to." Freddy immediately shut up at that. Summer opened the front door. "Come on, come in." He nervously stepped inside, and followed Summer through the kitchen. 

"You got this place decorated then, I see," he commented, leaning against the table, and looking at the brand new orange and green walls. 

"Yep!" Summer replied as she rummaged in a drawer, looking for something. "My mom's having some kind of mid-life crisis - she's decorating the whole house. She's even got plans for _my_ room."

"Oh yeah?"

"Pink."

"Gross," Freddy replied, shuddering. Summer laughed. 

"That's precisely what I said. Found it!" She added.

"Found what?" Summer turned to face Freddy, and waved a small, green box. "A first aid kit?"

"_Yes_, a first aid kit, now shut up and sit down." He sat. Summer ran some tissue under the tap, and then went over and sat next to Freddy. "Roll your sleeve up." He pushed his sleeve up above his elbow, and then held his arm out. Summer held the wet tissue against the fresh cuts.

"Ow! That _stings!"_

"Sorry. Can you hold that there?" Freddy took the tissue, leaving to start digging through the first aid box. "Where are they?" She muttered angrily. 

"Where are what?" Freddy asked, slightly curious. 

"Bandages."

"Don't go over the top Summer."

"You're lucky I'm not forcing you to go to the hospital and get stitches!" Summer snapped, slamming the lid of the box shut. "Take the tissue away," she instructed, much more gently. "Word of warning. I'm not a medical genius. These bandages will probably come loose soon."

"That's okay. I'm no medical genius, as you can tell," Freddy replied. Summer stopped unravelling the bandages and put her hand on Freddy's arm. 

"Hey. It's okay, you know." Freddy nodded. Summer went back to unravelling the roll of bandages. "So. . .I mean, how did you start - you know?"

"I already told you."

"Not why - how." Freddy sighed heavily. 

"You really want to know?"

"Yeah. If you want to tell me, that is."

"I do want to tell you."

"Go on then."

"Okay." He let out a shaky breath. "Well. . ."

* * _Just over three years ago. . . _* *

__

"Freddy, PLEASE!" His mother begged. "Please - please don't clam up. It's not your fault!" 

"I killed her!" He wailed, curled up on his bed. "It was my arms she fell out of! I was meant to be holding her up, looking after her - it's my fault she's dead!"

"Freddy, this is hard on all of us!" His father said, appearing in the doorway. "But we're worried about you - it's been three weeks now, and you've hardly left your room!" 

"Leave me alone!" Freddy yelled. "Leave me the hell alone!"

"Freddy, I know you're upset, but that doesn't give you the right to speak to me like that!"

"GET OUT!" He screamed. "Get out, get out! GET OUT!" He grabbed the nearest thing he could, which just so happened to be a picture of him and Lisa, and threw it, with all his might, at the door frame. The door slammed shut. Freddy slid off the bed into a heap on the floor, and started crying even harder, great, hard sobs which made his whole body shake. "Lisa," he gasped in between sobs. "I'm sorry!" 

Fifteen minutes passed. The door opened, and someone knelt in front of Freddy. He looked up to see his mother.

"Mommy," he sobbed. "I'm sorry about the picture."

"It's okay sweetie," she said gently. "Have you calmed down yet?" He sniffed and nodded. "Good. Will you come downstairs for dinner?" 

"Okay."

"It'll be ready in five minutes, okay?" 

"Yeah. Do you - do you want me to clean up the glass?"

"Leave it. I'll do it later. You might hurt yourself." Freddy nodded. "Okay. See you in five sweetheart." She stood and left the room. Freddy wiped his eyes with the back of his hand, and stood up, rather shakily. He decided that, with five minutes to go until dinner, he may as well clear up the mess anyway. He grabbed the bin from beside his bookcase and started carefully picking up bits of glass, throwing them into the bin. He worked steadily for a few minutes, until he lost his balance while leaning over to pick a piece of glass up, and fell. A particularly sharp shard of glass dug itself into the palm of his hand. Freddy dropped the bin in shock. He expected it to hurt - but it didn't. Instead, he could feel a little bit of his misery slowly fading away as the blood appeared. And for a while, he felt okay. Safe. 

Alive.

* * * * * 

"Oh Freddy," Summer said. "That's so sad. I had no idea - I'm _so _sorry."

"Isn't your fault," he said flatly, staring at the patterned floor tiles. He suddenly felt incredibly tired and weak. It must have shown, for the next thing he knew, Summer was knelt at his side.

"Freddy?" Her voice sounded like it was far away. "Freddy, are you okay? You've gone really pale."

"I'm okay," he replied, leaning his head on his hand. "I'm just a little dizzy, that's all." 

"I'll get you some water." Freddy couldn't be bothered to argue. Summer got up, and quickly filled a glass with cold water. Then, she was back at Freddy's side. "Drink this," she ordered. "You need it." Freddy took the glass and took a long gulp. "Any better?"

"Yeah - a bit."

"You're not as pale as you were," Summer commented, sitting back in her chair. 

"Yeah - I just felt really strange - you know, you're the only person who knows?"

"About your cutting?"

"Yeah." Summer didn't know what to say. Instead, she just finished unravelling the bandages, then opened up the first aid box again, and took out a pair of scissors, to cut the bandage to size. Freddy looked away. Summer looked from him, to the scissors and back to him again. Then she clocked why he was being funny.

"Oh - oh, Freddy, I'm sorry!" The scissors she was holding were exactly like the ones Freddy had been using earlier - when he was cutting himself. "I'm really sorry."

"It's okay," Freddy said with a small smile. "I'm not going to be able to avoid them forever, am I?"

"No, I guess not." Summer cut a strip off of the length of material then started carefully winding it round Freddy's arm. "Sorry - I don't actually know what I'm doing."

"You said that earlier."

"Just reminding you. There. Done." Freddy studied Summer's work. 

"Looks okay to me." Summer smiled and put everything back into the box, then carried it over to the drawer, and shut it away. While she was doing this, Freddy glanced innocently at the clock. To his complete surprise, it was nearly twenty to six. "Yep. Definitely late." Summer looked up at the clock and whistled. 

"Are you going to bother going to practice then?" Freddy shook his head. 

"No point really, is there? Dewey's gonna kill me though."

"So you're definitely not going to tell the others then?" Summer asked, opening the fridge and taking out two cokes. Freddy sighed. 

"I don't know Summer. I really don't. I mean, I know I _should_, 'cos they're my friends and everything, but you can never - oh thanks," he added as Summer put a can of coke in front of him. "I mean, you can never really predict what their reaction is gonna be."

"You don't have to tell them right away," Summer pointed out, pulling the ring on her coke. "You can give it a while. Just wait until the right moment -"

"When is the right moment to tell your friends you have an unhealthy appetite for slicing your own arms up?" Freddy interrupted. 

" - And _don't_ put it like that." 

"Sorry."

"And stop apologizing!"

"Sorry." The two of them suddenly started laughing. And then silence came over them. For at least five minutes, nothing was said by either of them. All that could be heard was the loud _tick, tick_ of the kitchen clock and the roar of an engine as a car went past. 

"I should probably go," Freddy said eventually, putting his coke down. 

"Are you sure you don't want to stay for a bit longer? You can stay for dinner if you like."

"Summer," Freddy asked, trying to sound serious, but with a twinkle in his eyes. "Are you trying to keep an eye on me?" 

"Yeah," Summer admitted, blushing slightly. "You're not mad, are you?"

"No. Actually, I think it's nice that someone cares." 

"How sweet. Are you staying then?"

"No - I really should go home. But thanks for the offer anyway." 

"That's okay." Summer accompanied Freddy to the front door. When he reached the porch, he stopped and turned around. 

"Summer - thanks for everything. It means a lot to me." 

"Anytime Freddy. If you ever want to talk - you know where I am." Freddy smiled at her, then hopped over the hedge to his house. Summer watched him as he went inside, then, with a heavy sigh, closed the door. 

- - - - - -

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TBC

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A/N: Probably the longest chapter I've ever written. Please leave a review. Next chapter should be up within 2 or 3 days.


	3. Chapter 3

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A/N: Thanks for the reviews! And thank you a million times to those people who said they were putting me on their favourites list - I really am honoured! THANK YOU!!!!!!!! *group hug* Um, a note to **Nessa's Ruby Slippers: **reading chapter three of You'd Better Get Me To School On Time helps because it has a flashback of exactly how Lisa died! And **Princess642:** What are pixie sticks?

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Note: Yep, this chapter will contain self-harm (but mostly in flashbacks) and a little bit of fairly strong language. Oh! And. . .

**Sorry to disappoint but this isn't a Summer/ Freddy fic! **Just thought I'd let you know. . .they're good friends, but that's as far as it goes, I'm afraid. Sorry if anyone's disappointed! 

**__**

Disclaimer: They're not mine! : ( Woe is me. . . .

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Only Me: chapter three

* * Previously * * 

_"Summer - thanks for everything. It means a lot to me."_

_"Anytime. If you ever want to talk - you know where I am." Freddy smiled at her then hopped over the hedge to his house. Summer watched him as he went inside, then, with a heavy sigh, closed the door._

* * * * * 

_Tap. Tap. Tap._ Summer was sitting on a wall, swinging her legs. Every time the heel of her shoe hit the wall, it made a little tapping noise. _Tap. Tap. Tap._

She shielded her eyes from the glaring sun as she studied the house in front of her. It was an usually warm day, considering it was only early spring, and within a few minutes, she was taking off her blazer and cramming it inside her bag - or _trying_ to cram it inside her bag, but with little success. 

"You'll get it creased if you keep doing that." Summer turned sharply to see Freddy standing on his front porch. He was holding his beloved skateboard under one arm, and was shielding his face from the bright sunlight using his other arm. She wondered just how long he had been watching her struggle trying to put her blazer away. But, she put it down and swivelled round on the wall so that she was facing him.

"Possibly," she replied, with a smile. "But it's too hot to wear it, and I absolutely _refuse_ to carry it all the way to school."

"What a shock!" Freddy mock-gasped as he jumped off the porch and walked over to join her. "Summer, refusing to do something? Call an ambulance!" He cried, pretending to feel her forehead for a temperature.

"Shut up," she said, smirking, trying to push him away. The smirk was promptly wiped off her face when she noticed that Freddy had his sleeves rolled up. "You do realise everyone's going to see your scars if you walk into school like that?" She asked, unaware that her eyes were fixed on his scarred arms.

"I know," Freddy replied quietly, feeling uncomfortable under her scrutinizing gaze. "That's why I'm gonna put my jumper back on before we get there." Summer eventually looked up, and nodded to signify that she understood. 

"Have you told your parents?" She asked, sliding off the wall, and dusting her skirt down. 

"You kidding me? No way." 

"Why not?" Freddy looked Summer right in the eye. She was shocked by how much emotion was in his own dark eyes.

"Do you know how hard it was, just telling _you_? And you're my friend! There's no way I can tell my parents. I just wouldn't know how," he added sadly.

"Fair enough." Freddy blinked in surprise. "What?"

"Nothing. I just thought that you'd tell me I _had_ to tell my parents." Summer crinkled her nose, and shook her head, trying not to laugh at the look of surprise Freddy still had on his face.

"No. I mean, it's up to you whether you want to or not." 

"You surprise me sometimes."

"Oh, I'm just _full_ of surprises, Mr. Jones," Summer said, trying to sound mysterious. Freddy started laughing. "What?"

"Oh, nothing!" He glanced at his watch. "Hey, check out the time. We'd better get going." They started walking. It wasn't until a few minutes later that something occurred to Freddy. "Hey Summer," he asked suddenly. 

"Yeah?"

"Why were you waiting outside my house for me?" Summer shrugged.

"I just thought I'd walk with you, that's all."

"Any particular reason?"

"I think you know," Summer replied quietly. She didn't actually say what the reason was - she didn't have to. They both knew. 

"Thanks Summer," Freddy said sincerely.

"Anytime." And they continued the walk to school in silence.

*~*~*~*~*

". . .So he just threw his bag out the window!" Tomika said, giggling. Zack, Marta and Alicia laughed along with her.

"I worry about your brother sometimes!" Alicia commented lightly.

"Don't we all," Tomika remarked dryly, but with a smile on her face. Marta opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the door opening. In walked Summer, closely followed by Freddy.

"Hi Summer. Hey Freddy," Zack called. Summer said 'hi' back, dropped her bag on her desk and went over to join them. Freddy, however, just made a beeline for his chair, and sat down, putting his head on the desk.

"Are you okay?" Marta asked him. Without moving his head, he gave her a thumbs up. "Um. . .by the way - about you missing band practice last night. . ." Freddy groaned.

"Oh God, I completely forgot," he moaned. "Break it to me gently." 

"Well - put it this way," Marta said uncomfortably. "Band Suspension wasn't just a threat." Freddy's head shot up so fast that his neck cricked. Rubbing it, he fixed a steely glare on Marta. 

"Tell me you're joking!" He demanded. Marta shook her head, her pigtails bouncing slightly. 

"Sorry." Freddy swore violently and put his head back down on the desk with a loud _thud_, making the others wince. 

"But - I thought Dewey was joking about the Band Suspension thing. . ." Summer said, addressing Marta, but looking worriedly at Freddy. Marta shrugged. 

"It's a week, isn't it?" Freddy asked, without removing his head from the desk. 

"Yeah, it is," Tomika replied. When Freddy swore again, she continued hurriedly. "But, it could be worse."

_"How?"_

"Dewey did want to make it two weeks - we talked him out of it," Zack explained. Freddy sighed heavily.

"Thanks," he mumbled. 

"Your head's going to be welded to the desk if you stay like that much longer," Marta told him. He pulled his head up, and rubbed it where he had hit it earlier. Marta frowned slightly.

"What did you do?" Freddy looked confused, until Marta walked over and gently took his arm - to his horror, he realised his sleeve had ridden up and was showing off the bandage. His eyes widened slightly, as did Summer's. 

"Oh - I - uh. . ." He struggled to find an excuse as he tugged his sleeve down. Luckily, at that moment, he was saved by the arrival of Katie. He'd never been so glad to see her. "Katie!" She smiled warmly at him, dropped her bag on the floor by her desk and hurried over to him. 

"Good morning!" She greeted him, kissing him lightly on the cheek. Marta let go of his arm as she wrinkled her nose.

"Please," she sighed. "Too early in the morning for _that_." 

"Shut up Marta," Katie said, but it was accompanied by a typical Katie style smile. She turned her eyes back to Freddy, and immediately spied the bandage that Freddy was trying to hide by tugging his sleeve down. "Freddy, what did you do?"

"Um - strained a muscle?" Katie's face was a picture of confusion. "I was helping my mom carry some boxes up to the attic - one was really heavy, and I must have strained a muscle in my arm." Katie nodded.

"Poor thing." Suddenly, there was a loud crash and a squeal of 'You idiot!' from the other side of the room. The rest of the class looked in the direction that the crash had come from, to see a very embarrassed Eleni standing in the middle of a pile of books. There was something else by her feet, that looked suspiciously like. . .a bookcase shelf? 

"Eleni, what on Earth did you do?" Summer called over. 

"Um. . .I kinda made the top shelf of the bookcase collapse. . ." Eleni explained, going very red with embarrassment. 

"How did you manage that?" Lawrence asked, looking up from his book. 

"I - don't actually really know. . .can someone help me pick all these books up please?" About half the class went over, including Zack, Marta and Tomika. Katie also went over, but not before turning back to Freddy and giving him a sympathy smile, which Freddy assumed was for his 'injury'. 

Summer waited before Katie had left before going over to Freddy. "That was a really bad lie," she told him.

"I know!" Freddy moaned, leaning his head in his hands. "But what was I supposed to say? I was kinda put on the spot there." 

"So I take it you're not planning on telling them anytime soon then?" 

"Well, not first thing in the morning, no." Summer nodded. Then, looking round to see if anyone was listening, she leaned forward, her dark hair swinging in her face. She impatiently shoved her hair behind her ears before talking.

"Freddy? _Are_ you going to tell them?" 

"Summer!" Freddy whined. "We've talked about this before! I just - I don't know. I mean - what if they don't understand? What if they think I'm a freak?" Summer reached out and took Freddy's arm - the one _without_ the bandage. 

"Freddy," she said firmly. "No, Freddy, look at me. _Look_ at me!" Freddy didn't want to, but something in Summer's voice made him look up at her. "Freddy. You are _not_ a freak. They're your _friends_! They will understand." 

"I'm just nervous, you know?" 

"I know. But you know, I'm always here if you want to talk."

"I know that. Thanks Summer." She smiled, let go of his arm and punched him lightly on the shoulder. "Ouch."

"There's no way that could have hurt!" 

"You're wearing a ring!" 

"You're just being a wuss Frederick Daniel Jones."

"Aargh!" Freddy mock-screamed. "Don't _ever_ call me that!" Summer laughed. "What are _you_ laughing at, Summer Luciana Hathaway?" 

"What's wrong with the name Luciana?" 

"It's so. . .girly!" Summer punched Freddy in the shoulder again.

"You're so sexist sometimes, you really are." Freddy gave her a mock-wounded look, unaware they were being watched. . .

*~*~*~*~*

Katie inwardly cursed at Eleni as she picked up yet more books. "Eleni, I don't think I will ever know how the hell you managed to break that shelf," she muttered, adding some books to the growing pile.

"She sat on it!" Michelle giggled. Eleni went bright red as everyone laughed. 

Once the laughter had subsided and everyone had gone back to picking up the unbelievable amount of books (well, it _was_ a very large bookcase), Katie just so happened to glance over her shoulder to where Freddy was sitting - and her eyes darkened. Summer was sitting closely to Freddy, leaning forward, whispering to him, holding his arm. 

"What the hell. . ?" She whispered to herself, putting down the textbook she was holding. Summer let go of Freddy's arm and punched him on the shoulder. There was an exchange of words that Katie couldn't quite make out, and then Freddy started laughing at something Summer had said. Summer punched him again, and Katie's eyes narrowed. _What the hell is going on?_ she asked herself. 

"Katie!" She looked round to see Michelle looking pointedly at her. 

"What?"

"You're kneeling on one of the books." 

"Oh. Sorry." She quickly stood up. Seeing Summer laughing at Freddy made her eyes just that little bit more, and she hurriedly made her way over.

"I'm not interrupting anything, am I?" She asked sarcastically. Freddy shook his head, and pulled her towards him so that he could give her a kiss on the cheek. 

"Of course not," he said once he'd let go of her. 

"Did you get all the books picked up yet?" Summer asked. 

"Not yet," Katie replied, more frostily than usual. 

"Oh. Well, maybe I should go lend a hand then."

"Yeah, maybe you should," Katie muttered as Summer walked off. 

"What was that for?" Freddy asked; evidently, he had overheard what she had just said. Katie shook her head. 

"Nothing, don't worry." Freddy raised an eyebrow but didn't bother to argue. Instead, he put his head back down on the desk once again, as he was extremely tired, and he wanted to grab a cat-nap before their teacher arrived. "Freddy," Katie said suddenly. 

"Hmm?" 

"You - you do still like me, right?" Freddy looked up. 

"What kind of question is _that_?" He asked. 

"Well I -" He took her hand. 

"Katie," he said firmly. "You know that I do. Why on Earth would you need to ask?" Katie shrugged. 

"Just checking," she said quietly, tracing a mark on the desk with her finger. 

"You're strange!" Freddy laughed, leaning in for a kiss. Just as their lips touched, they were interrupted by the arrival of their teacher, Mrs. Wenhem. 

"Excuse me!" She raged, coughing to get their attention. "Kindly save that for _after_ school hours please!"

"Sorry," they apologized simultaneously. Mrs. Wenhem scowled at them, and then turned to the rest of the class. 

"Take your seats please! Class has begun!" There was a flurry of activity as everyone rushed to their seats (the bookcase had finally been fixed, thanks in large parts to Zack, who was actually rather good at D.I.Y.) and began taking out his or her books. Katie raised her eyebrows at Freddy, who smiled back. He was actually feeling pretty happy. He should have known that it wouldn't last. . . .

****

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TBC

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A/N: You like? Please leave a review! Oh, and **Shapeshifter:** You like The Ramones as well? OMG that's so cool! Haha, I absolutely adore them - I've got the albums, the t-shirts, the jumpers, posters. . .lol, I'm totally obsessed!


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